Good positioning on the bike is very important for efficient
mountain biking. The height of the seat should allow you to have
your foot at the lowest point in the pedal stroke. Still, it
should leave some roam for a slight bend in your knee. Your hips
will rock when you pedal if you extend your legs fully. However,
if the bend in knee is too much, the full pedal power will not
get to the pedals. You run the risk of leg cramps and discomfort
with incorrect positioning on the bike.
When you have your foot and pedal in the "3 o’clock" position,
your knee should be directly over the pedal. For that, you will
need to adjust your seat position by moving it forward or
backward.
The width of the handlebars in your bike should be approximately
equal to your shoulder width. Its position should be at the same
level as the seat.
A slight bend in your elbows will help you absorb shock while
riding. A change in stem length may also be helpful. You will
have a wide variety of stem sizes in your local cycle shop.
Keeping the hands straight and changing hand positions
occasionally help avoid hand numbness over long rides. The grip
should be firm, but relaxed. For additional positioning options,
you can have a set of bar-ends.
You should position yourself on the seat on a comfortable saddle
well behind the cranks. The position should be so that it does
not numb the plumbing or crush the folds. Your body weight
should be on your butt while riding, not your hands.
There should be a noticeable bend in your elbow as you ride the
brake hoods. This will keep your forearm more horizontal than
your upper arm. Your position on the bike should give your body
a good amount of flexibility. You should be able to make the
necessary body movements without a strain while on the move. You
can push the seat a little back and keep the bars much higher.
This will allow you to grab the tops (the straight section of
the bar next to the stem) gently without "falling into" them.
It is not impossible to find such a position in bikes. However,
most people prefer small bikes because they are lighter,
stiffer, stronger and more responsive. Experienced bike riders
usually associate big frame bikes with newcomers. That is why
they avoid bikes with big frames. However, when it comes to
performance, those bikes are quite okay. A big frame bike
provides a better perch with its weight, rust and squeaks. It
gives a comfortable riding position.
Settling on a saddle height is the first step to determine the
proper frame size of the bike. The saddle height is the distance
from the top of the saddle to the center of the bottom bracket.
The seat tube angle determines this height to some extent. If
you go farther behind the pedals on your seat, you will be
farther away for any given saddle height. The saddle height of
your bike should give you a comfortable position with proper leg
extension.
The saddle height and fore-and-aft ness should allow you to have
a slight bend in your knee at the bottom of the stroke. After
you set the saddle height and fore-and-aft ness, you can raise
the bars slightly to ensure more comfort. Most of the riders
have the tops of the bars where the drops are. The drops remain
down so far that they never get to them. There are various
reasons why they cannot raise the bars enough. It may be due to
a short stem quill or a low stem angle. It may also happen if
the frame is too small. Sometimes, the reason may be a
combination of all these. The most common way to raise the stem
on a bike is with either an up jotter like those you find on
some mountain bikes or a long-quill "periscope" style.
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